Builders are lobbying the government to keep planning policy as it is. They say that their industry depends upon Greenfield sites being available to build on, without the need to use up Brownfield sites first. This is causing misery across the country. We find that builders are cherry-picking the green fields on the edges of towns, because these are the easiest and most profitable sites to develop. Meanwhile, Brownfield sites are left to rot, or remain for years as piles of rubble in the heart of towns. There are alternatives to the present policies which would keep builders in work, provide apprenticeships, supply just as many homes, avoid conflict with communities and would halt the relentless encroachment upon our precious countryside. Please lobby the candidates for the coming general election to support the following proposals: • To bring back the sequential testing of land, so that applications to develop Greenfield sites can be turned down if alternative Brownfield sites exist. • To award grants for the decontamination of industrial land. • To give incentives to councils and builders to renovate empty homes. • To encourage the building of higher density homes on Brownfield sites, where this would not impact on the light and space of neighbours. • To increase the tax threshold for renting out rooms to lodgers, so that there is less single occupancy of homes. • To provide funding for the merging of houses, when this is appropriate, e.g. in large areas of high density housing, where a better mix is needed. • To follow one of the main objectives of the National Planning Policy Framework: of ‘allowing people and communities back into planning’. There is rigour in complying with the rest of the framework – why not with this? Merely inviting people to comment on proposals is not good enough - communities should be genuinely involved in the planning process.

A new owner is in the process of taking over the Brighton Hippodrome site. Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) gave planning approval to convert the Hippodrome into an eight-screen cinema, restaurants and retail units. We are told that the scheme is not going ahead. Vue Entertainment, the company that was to have operated the cinema, is no longer involved. This means that the magnificent Grade II* listed theatre, designed by Frank Matcham—the finest unused theatre in the country—will be left with no plan to save it other than the one being developed by Our Brighton Hippodrome (OBH). The BHCC City Plan names the Hippodrome as one of the key venues in the city’s cultural infrastructure that should be protected and enhanced ‘for their existing use or potential for such use’. It is long past the time when BHCC should issue an urgent repairs notice to protect one of the most important buildings in the city from further deterioration. Meanwhile, the city council should give its full support to enable OBH to complete its plans for restoration of the Hippodrome for live performance and as a major community asset. With BHCC's backing, OBH will be more able to raise the funding for restoration and will be in a stronger position to negotiate with the site’s owner. A restored Hippodrome would add considerably to the local economy, serving the residents of the city and the county and attracting valuable tourist spending with shows that cannot currently be presented in Sussex. A petition on 38 Degrees in favour of theatre restoration has achieved over 11,500 signatures. BHCC should acknowledge the massive public support for revival of the iconic Hippodrome for live performance—and the preference of most of the council’s own elected members for theatre restoration, if possible. It IS possible. The community can make it happen and the council should help achieve this aspiration. Read about the project at ourhippodrome.org.uk Contact the campaign at [email protected] Become a member of the campaign at ourhippodrome.org.uk/join Donate to the campaign fighting fund at ourhippodrome.org.uk/donate

The Prime Minister made a personal promise to cancer patients at the last election that they would be able to access the treatments their doctors recommended. In response, the Cancer Drugs Fund was introduced in 2010 to ensure cancer patients in England were able to access new, innovative treatments that weren't currently available on the NHS. This was an enormous step forward for thousands of patients with advanced or rare cancers, giving them access to treatments that enhanced their quality of life and gave them precious extra time with their families. Yet, from March 13 2015 8,000 cancer patients will have this access to vital treatments cut off. NHS England has recently announced that it will remove 25 treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund, with effect from March 2015, meaning nearly 8,000 cancer patients a year will be denied life-extending drugs condemning them to an early death and denying the opportunity to improve their quality of life. These changes are a backward step in treatment for advanced cancer and rarer cancers. Doctors will be forced to tell their patients there are treatments that can prolong their lives but they will no longer be available. The Government and drug companies must sit down and find a way to guarantee access to cancer treatments at a cost which is affordable to the NHS. The NHS should be there when you need it the most and the Prime Minister should stand up for cancer patients.

The 'Friends of the River Nene' (FOTRN) has been formed as a group dedicated to improving everyone's experience when using or visiting the river Nene. As such we have volunteers willing to work to help the E.A., local councils and local landowners to improve all aspects of the enjoyment of this lovely river. Please sign our petition, which we hope will help us improve things.

A New Town was built housing over 30,000 people right beside Aycliffe Village called Newton Aycliffe . The decision to close the East Coast mainline station in 1947 just as Newton Aycliffe was being built was a mistake. There is now plenty of demand for mainline services. People are forced to use private cars instead to access college opportunities and the jobs market in Durham, Chester le Street and Newcastle upon Tyne. The current Newton Aycliffe station is only on the Bishop Auckland branch line and goes to Darlington.

Last Thursday one of the members was missing from the club, this sent the alarm bells ringing and thanks to this community the lady was found on her lounge floor and was able to receive medical attention and hospitalised. With no club who can look out for these members? Whilst the majority of Peel members are able to remain active and independent through services provided at the Centre, as users grow older their needs increase and they often become frailer and more dependent on staff for support and assistance. Working closely with social services and primary care providers we are able to support these members to remain independent and living in their own homes. This lifeline for the members is now under threat

In 2012, Gloucestershire County Council agreed a £500 million contract with corporate developer UBB (Urbaser Balfour Beatty) to build and operate a huge "mass burn" incinerator at Javelin Park, Haresfield, on the edge of the Cotswolds designated Area Of Natural Beauty, to be paid for using taxpayers' money. Negotiations were shrouded in secrecy and no public consultation was entered into with respect to cleaner and cheaper waste solutions [1], which were - and still are - available. We do not know the contents of the contract, because they have never been fully revealed. What we do know is that - democratic bodies representing over half of the county opposed the plans (2 MPs, 3 District Councils,19 Town and Parish Councils) - 3 weeks after the contract was actually signed, in 2013, the Gloucestershire County Council Planning Committee, after a full hearing of all sides of the debate, voted unanimously to refuse planning permission [2] And yet, on the 7th of January 2015, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles overturned that democratic planning decision. Now we are being told that if the Council uphold democracy and cancel the contract with UBB there will be a massive penalty to pay - up to £100 million - yet we are not being told how they have reached this figure. We have a right to know how this happened. It is our money, our environment and our health that are at issue and we are not being told the whole story. NOTES: [1] An MBT (Mechanical Biological Treatment) plant already has planning permission in Gloucestershire - and UBB themselves have been commissioned to build one in Essex. See the developer's own explanation of its advantages: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gVTCv92hHWNDs5LxcJ7CoEruEPxuad9gul-T9nIsuI4/edit [2] Among the reasons for refusal were: - evidence of air pollution and fear of health risk - competition with sustainable methods such as recycling - huge impact on the landscape - high CO2 emissions - significant import of waste from elsewhere required to maintain function

This will give all political parties and the nation the information that shows how much of the UKs power can be achieved without fossil fuels and to help plan for the shortfall if any .

Please share: http://www.facebook.com/twyncrossing I’m sure I voice the opinion of many of us who are growing weary of playing chicken with the ever increasing traffic whilst trying to cross from the Twynyrodyn area over to Station Yard. This is a particularly important being the main route to the train station as well as an access to Tesco and the arcade. As you are no doubt well aware, this is an extremely busy junction for both cars and pedestrians however no planning consideration appears to have been given to the welfare of pedestrians, even as recent alterations to the one-way system has increased traffic-flow. The pathmarks carved into the banks of the road are testament to the brave souls who chance their luck! Please lend your voice for the inclusion of a safe pedestrian crossing to be developed as part of the town centre redevelopment plans. To highlight the reasons for prioritising this project as a matter of urgency, I would like to draw your attention to the Welsh Government’s Capitol Metro-Area impact studies: http://wales.gov.uk/docs/det/publications/131126-metro-impact-study-regeneration-en.pdf As a commuter of many years travelling to and from the city I welcome investment in public transport wholeheartedly, but this document is particularly of interest to the residents of Twynyrodyn / Penyard as this highlights: • The future planned development of 340 new houses in the area (not including the 100+ houses already under construction on the former Maerdy Hospital site). • Use of Twyn Hill as the main route for the inter-valley “regional bus rapid transit” route (see illustration, p. 52). Not forgetting: • The number of schools and nurseries located in the area. Again I am not against development (although yet more traffic is certainly a concern to ill-suited main roads – a matter I’m sure Heolgerrig residents will sympathise with), but if we are to be encouraged to use public transport and walk more then I feel it is only fair that we are allowed to do so safely. Thanks for your time, Mathew

Many timeshare contracts are for 54 years without exit clauses. The contacts pass on to children and grandchildren irrespective of ability to pay or ability to use the holidays even in cases of ill health. An example of a 80 year old lady having to pay almost a £1,000, pa for holidays which she could not physically use nor afford. Timeshare providers are now offering vacations to the general public at rates which are less than members pay, and at all times of the year using exactly the same facilities. Initially timeshares were sold as exclusive deals. However, it is still not possible to exit timeshare contracts. Timeshare clubs use the excuse, 'by letting it to non members use the facilities it keeps the maintenance charges down'. Latest scams/deals request exiting timeshare holders to pay in excess of £10,000 to change their current contracts to 15 year contracts again unrealistic if elderly, ill or with no ability to pay crippling costs

Bath's Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases' reputation for excellence, built over the last 250 years, has been shown to be consistently of the highest quality by recent CQC inspections. The RNHRD is the world's and the nation's first, iconic national hospital for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases, Patients of the RNHRD, some with over 50 years experience of treatment, and from all over the country, believe that the historic site in the city centre is an essential ingredient in the exceptional quality of their treatment and should continue to serve them as it has on site and covering national as well as regional patients. Patients believe that the exceptional quality of the care they receive at RNHRD stems from an amalgum of factors. First from the reputation of the hospital for excellence of care, as a training centre for many of the world's senior practising rheumatologists, and where there is an integration of current research, clinical practice and application through therapy which has been built over many years within a small specialist institution, the birthplace of rheumatology. Secondly the symbiotic integration of practice and new thinking and the team approach engendered in a small institution provides a sense of identity and purpose that translates into exceptional approaches to treatment that can be identified by patients in comparison with that in other hospitals. Thirdly there is a sense of pride in the history and uniterrupted purpose of medical practice on this iconic site, that strengthens and influences practice in the same way that it does in other similalrly ancient institutions such as historic schools and universities. Lastly the RNHRD was the first national hospital to be created and it it remains functioning as that within the same buildings with doctors diagnosing and treating the same area of disease for which it was created 250 years ago. This makes it a vital part of our living national heritage and an essential ingredient of Bath's World Heritage City status.

disabled are bearing the Brunt of the Cuts to Public Services and Benefits which is wholly Unaccepatable and Unfair in Society that shouldlcare for the less fortunate that are afflicted by serious health conditions ,not of their Choosing. Poverty caused by illness People using Foodbanks to feed themselves and families access to Medical Treatment limited by cuts to NHS front line services. a Disable treated Unfairly given Sanctions and left to Struggle .Equality and Parity of Esteem accorded to. Social Wage given instead of a cluster of Benefits Opportunities for Educational Advancement,Retrainingtion g and Rehabilitation,. Building Social Housing that is Adapted for Disabled Usage and equipping Public Amenities for Acess ie Day Centres ,. The application of Human Rights Laws efficacy when denied Support by Social Care and successful appeals to European Courts where there has been a breach of the statutory "Duty Of Councils and Health Departments..